NEIGHBORLY ADVICE

While living on the Gold Beach Ranger Station in 1980, the neighbor's wife living in the house below us asked me to take a look at the engine in their car to see if she had put water in the radiator correctly.   She showed me where she had filled what she thought was the radiator to the top.  In shock I saw she had put water where the oil went.   She had completely filled the engine crankcase with water.   I advised her not to start the engine and  have it drained and flushed out with oil and replace the oil filter a couple of times.   Later her husband returned home and was not pleased.   He apologized to me and was thankful I advised his wife not to start the engine.  

STP OIL TREATMENT

 How many remember the oil additive STP?   It was a thick honey-like liquid used to prevent engines from excessive wear and burning oil, especially old worn-out engines.   I'm not sure if it is still on the market anymore and probably not recommended for these newer engines.   

My dad bought this stuff by the gallons.   He had an old 1940's vintage used White truck (White was the brand name, not the color) used to pull a low bed trailer for transporting equipment.   This truck had a big 6 cylinder gas engine, 5-speed main transmission with a secondary 3-speed gearbox for a total of 15 spends forward.   This truck went through a lot of motor oil and my dad would pour an entire gallon of STP in it at times.       

A MAJOR BREAKDOWN

The hitch behind the D7 Caterpillar tractor had a large pin that attached the chisel plow to the draw bar of the tractor.   There were two smaller bolts on the chisel plow hitch that were used to adjust the tilt of the implement.   Two hydraulic hoses were attached to the hydraulic pump on the back of the tractor.  These two hoses went to a cylinder that was used to raise and lower the implement as it was supported by two iron wheels.   These hoses were made of hard rubber with a steel mesh lining in side, since there was high pressure when the hydraulic oil was forced through them.  A chisel plow is basically a ripper used to break up compacted soil.  This particular implement was 14 feet wide with three rows of rippers offset where they were about 12 inches in width between each ripper that were set for 16 inches in depth through hard compacted ground.   The tractor had a 5 speed transmission and could only pull this implement in second gear, so you can imagine the resistance.   

One hot afternoon the two smaller bolts broke while I was operating the tractor.    The two hoses did not break and were strong enough to pull the hydraulic pump off the tractor when the cast iron housing attaching the pump to the tractor broke.   It happened so fast I did not have time to release the hand clutch and prevent the damage.    

PUMPING FUEL FROM THE WRONG TANK

Whenever farm work was being performed in the field with machinery there was usually was a fuel wagon or fuel truck nearby.    These wagons or trucks had duel tanks, one for diesel and one for gasoline or one tank with two compartments.   It was a Friday afternoon and my dad was planning on picking me up from where I was driving a tractor and we were going to join my mother and siblings where they were camping with friends at a campground on Mill Creek.    When my dad drove into the field where I was working he stopped by the fuel truck that had one tank with two compartments and filled his car with diesel by mistake.   It wasn't until after he had filled the tank that he realizes his mistake.   There had been some gas in the car tank and he thought we could drive as far as Chico and put more gas on top of the diesel then drive to Red Bluff and get more gas in the tank to dilute the diesel.   It worked, we made it to the campground with no problems, just a little more black smoke coming from the tailpipe.  

LEARNING THE HARD WAY

Learning how to operate and maintain farm equipment was usually done by the trial and error method.    Very seldom did anybody read an operator's manual or even know where they were at.  Looking back I never remember seeing one.

Many of the tractors made before 1940 did not have electric starters, some required cranking the engine or turning a flywheel to get the engine running.    Most of the Caterpillar crawlers had gas-starting engines to preheat and start the bigger diesel engines.  International Harvester (IH) came out with a diesel engine that started on gasoline and after a few minutes, you could switch it to diesel.   Most of the equipment my dad had was old and used until 1963 when he bought a new IH crawler.   That winter he sent me out to a field where it had been sitting for some time to move it to another field   As I started the engine it sputtered, started for a few seconds then made a clunking sound and quit.   At the time I did not know the water in it had frozen at some point cracking the head causing water to fill one of the cylinders.   When I started the engine on the gas the piston in the filled cylinder compressed against the water bending the rod to the crankshaft.   Once it started the rod broke causing serious damage to the engine.   I was told later that the spark plug for that cylinder should have been removed to allow the water to be pushed out.   How was I to know and who was responsible for not checking for antifreeze in the radiator?

Eventually, it ended up in our shop where we proceeded to take the engine apart.   There were parts all over the place when the IH dealer came to repossess it due to no monthly payments made for the last few months.   They took it all including the nuts and bolts scattered all over the shop floor.   Sure was a good way to clean up the place.

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair

 Remember the days when you could change the oil, adjust the carburetor or replace the spark plugs in less than an hour on your vehicle back in the 1960's and 70's?   There was enough space around the engine that you could actually see the ground after opening the hood.   Changing the oil filter was easy without getting under the vehicle or standing on your head under the hood trying to get to it buried in some difficult place.  

Nowadays just looking under the hood is a nightmare with all the electrical systems, computers, sensors and other components that obstruct the view of the engine itself.   There is a warning light for everything, including the tires.   It becomes necessary to make an appointment at the dealership or a first class shop to do all the maintenance and repairs where labor costs are $80+ per hour.

I think back on the used 1963 Ford pickup I paid $800 for after getting out of the Army in 1968.  It had a six cylinder engine and was easy to maintain and I even rebuilt the engine without too much profanity.   The best thing about that vehicle was I could use a pocket knife or screwdriver as a key to start it.    Sure wish I had it now as some days I don't know where my keys are anymore.

Cheers!